The Difference Between Now and Then
by BlackFeather101
Summary: Shadow knew from the moment he volunteered to aid the heroes in their last resort to save the universe, he was living his last moments. Or so he had thought. Now that his thoughts were proven wrong, will he become accustomed to these new, stranger environments and their people?


**So this is the revised version. Hopefully this one will be better than the last one. **

It was that dark abyss with the motion of lightness that Shadow was actually getting quite accustomed to. After all, he had reasoned, he fell into the sweet arms of unconsciousness far too often in his lifetime. Still after that last battle, he wasn't quite complaining about it. It was because of this that he wouldn't be surprised if he had even perished. The ebony hedgehog had found himself using all power he could muster in order to, quite frankly, make sure that his cobalt colored ally returned safely to the welcoming arms of his friends and possibly family.

Shadow didn't really now that he pondered over the fact. He himself was always in the company of a small, self absorbed team with a treasure hunting bat and an obsessed scientist who wanted nothing more than to triumph over his foe. His morals were questionable however but he proved his value from time to time. It was certainly not something he could look forward to returning. Sonic had friends, friends who actually seemed a tad bit more normal than his own allies. Not only that but they deeply cared for one another. The hedgehog was never one for too much sentiments but to allow himself to live and watch the others continue on, mourning the loss of their beloved friend...

No, he, uncharacteristically (He blamed it on the knowledge of knowing he may die during the mission. The thought of leaving the land of the living can do things to a hedgehog after all.) would have none of that. At least not while he was alive and kicking.

That decision had led him to this familiar abyss. He could be dead. The chaos control could have or rather must have used up all his strength and now he was in the so called after life. "Is this," He whispered but his voiced echoed loudly in the non existent walls, "My resting place?" It did not seem so. He couldn't necessarily see anything. Shadow could even compare this feeling to sweet blissful sleep after an exhausting day. That was nonsense. He had to be died, deceased, had kicked the bucket, and all those death expressions.

"_Hey." _

Was the sensation of a poke on his side a normal side affect of dying?

"_Come on dude, Wake up." _

Where was that voice coming from?

"DUDE!"

Shadow grimaced slightly at the loud noise, regaining slight feeling in his aching body. The voice was femininely deep, perhaps he was found by Rouge? No, the bat had a seductive tone laced in her words. He also concluded that Rouge never once said 'dude'.

"He's waking up, Sis." Another much more soft, higher pitched voice said. The ebony hedgehog was now curious. Who exactly was with him?

"It looks like my amazing skills worked one again." Voice one replied. Her tone sounded cocky, which unnerved Shadow a bit. He had just finished working with many cocky Mobians, so did fate utterly loathe him to allow another to make her way into his path? What had he done to deserve that?

"If you mean that your amazing skills is your ability to yell rather loudly, then I would agree."

"Hey! When you're the Captain of a loud team, what do you expect? A quiet person who is afraid to speak?"

"Sky, as much as I would like to sit here and chat with you, I do have a patient to attend to." Voice two seemed to end the conversation there, gently touching here and there where Shadow felt the most pain erupting from. Her hands moved in an expertised fashion, he mused, she must either be a nurse or does this often to the other female with her. He did not doubt that the other participated in quarrels due to her comments so far.

"Hello, dear," The one tending to his wounds spoke softly, "Can you open your eyes for me?"

It was a simple requested that benefitted both parties, so naturally he completed it. He was surprised however to see two hedgehogs, females as he had predicted, leaning over him. The one closest to him was a periwinkle tinted one, clad in white with a gentle smile adorning her white muzzle and complementing her sapphire eyes. Surprisingly she looked no older than a fifteen year old. "I am glad you're alive and at least healing." She informed, cutting a thin strip of white cloth to finish bandaging his wounds. "That was quite a fall you took. You certainly had a few broken bones but thanks to a special potion I managed to mend them."

"Now they'll just be bruises." His attention turned towards the loud voice. The owner was a azure colored female, who looked only slightly older than the other. She gave off an aura of confidence as she stood up. Her attire was complete with an array of blues, ranging from her shorts to her converses (Shadow wasn't necessarily was a type of person to change shoes other than his specialized shoes, but after spending months with a lady, you learn things.) to her varsity jacket. Only her tank top was a milky white color. Her quills were worn down for the most part, sticking up only slightly in the back, giving her a rebel look. Shadow could only tell that she was trouble for him.

"Anyways," The periwinkle hedgehog interrupted. "I would prefer that you stay under my supervision for the time being. I wouldn't want to find out your allergic to the ingredients the difficult way Mister..."

Shadow entertained the idea to make up a name, a new backstory, and possibly start his life over. His pounding head protested this; He hardly could stay awake, how would he come up with a new life? "Shadow." He replied in a tired tone. "I'm Shadow the hedgehog."

And with that, he allowed himself to be swallowed by the dark abyss once more.


End file.
